It was the fifth day of hunting. I got up early, fresh and full of strength. Sleeping in the mountains has a beneficial effect to my health. My heart beat faster when I saw the tops, covered by snow. The dream vanished.
For the breakfast I had fat with onion, the boiled eggs and opened a can of sprat in tomato, then had tea with snickers and that’s all. It was the first time when I’d boiled eggs in the hunting trip and some hunters could say that’s it’s bad luck but I’m sure that luck doesn’t depend on what you eat.
My plan was to move slowly and to hunt just till the lunch time. It’d be ok if I saw something in the morning and then would go back. The goal was to see not to get the trophy.
I turned from the main gorge to the smallest one, which was called Terspetak. Two groups of boars crossed the river just in few minutes before me, their tracks were still fresh and wet.
I climbed leisurely, it was the fifth day and fatigue was making itself felt. The clothe soaked with sweat in the first day, didn’t have sour smell anymore as if all toxins left my body and now I emitted just spring water. My hearing had become so acute, thoughts cleared and the soul rejoiced. I mused what was more important on the hunt , meat or impressions? If I got the trophy in the first day I couldn’t see that beauty. So sometimes it’s good not to finish the hunt in the first day but from the other hand nobody wants to go home with empty hands. So I came to the conclusion that it was nice when you can spent some days in nature and then get the trophy. But it works only if you have time as I had in that time.
I noticed several roes which grazed among the bushes. I spotted them without any tools, then measured the distance, it was 400 meters. It’s super. The vision, after few days of hunting, became sharper. I discovered one more thing that I became stronger each time when saw the hunting game, it was even easier to climb. I reached the jumper with the next ridge and detected two horned roes, watched them for a long. It was lunch time but they were not going to lie down and rest.
I ascended along the ridge for the height but didn’t find any sign of the goats, though heard the rockfalls on the opposite range. I’m sure they were ibexes but couldn’t see them on the dark rocks. They were much darker in that part of the hunting ground, even the youngsters
merged with the environment. Those mountains were their home and they were safe there.
I marked the hill and decided to come to it, then to check if there was something and then would go home. I reached it and found one more upland, decided to go to it and did so four times.
While having lunch at two o’clock I started to think over the situation and solved to stay there till the end. The further route leaded down what was much easier. I had just to go and to choose the way and to monitor the surroundings. Moreover I discovered fresh tracks on the opposite slope. They belonged to the group of fifty animals and animals were somewhere below me. The rocky visors didn’t allow to consider whey they lie. If I descend and took one of them I couldn’t carry it back, didn’t’ have enough time and didn’t want to spent night there. So I had to go further.
I concentrated on the watching the other places. It was 3 o’clock when I had the second lunch. It was warm enough but the sun didn’t blind and I could see and define everything around. Moreover I noticed that after being few days in the forest became more attentive and could scan the surrounding more gentle. Thus I detected three females and the youngster, they had rest at the end of the ravine, I’d been there yesterday but didn’t reach that place. Today I saw them because I was much higher.
Where were males? All animals, I’d seen during the day, were females only. That thought just flashed in my mind when I noticed two smudged blots with the horns! Ibexes. They were laying on snow, then one of them stood up and laid down once again behind the tree. They took the right position when had laid above the gorge on the slope and could see three exits from different sides while the high impassable rocks blocked the forth side. Those animals were very experienced, one of them laid and watched one side while another one controlled the other. Very effective cooperation. I’m sure that they survived because lived together, two pairs of eyes were sharper. One could sleep while another was on duty and vice versa. What I had to do just try to approach.
It was possible because I was higher than they were and noticed them first. The slope, where we all were, wasn’t steep. It was the beginning of the bowl or circus, goats on the one side and I was on another. I decided to move down directly to them.
At the beginning I went without hiding, then began to move from the tree to another one and checked if they noticed me or not. Then climbed over the bend and went directly reducing the distance. It was late when I realized that the best way was to descend along another bend and went on to move from tree to tree. Then there was an open area and the branch of the river. They laid on the right bank while I was on the left one. The only way was to cross the river , the distance in such case would be about 500 meters, the working one.
I moved very calm, didn’t worry about the result though it was the first time when I saw such huge trophies. They still laid and didn’t give a sign that smelt me. They were too beautiful.
My position was comfortable and I couldn’t but hit the mark from it. I had good tool but better to come close to be sure.
I went to the big stone, which was the same size as I was, hiding behind it I measured the distance. It was 570 meters but the goats smelt me! They notice me, when I was crossing the open area, and stood up ready to run. It was time.
I put elbows on the stone, bring optics and press gently down ... Not checking the result tried to move closer to make some more pictures but there weren’t any sign of them. I spent some time trying to define the direction, where they left but couldn’t do it. Very experienced males. I wasn’t going to kill them just make some pictures but they didn’t believe me.
I had rest and monitored the crumbled slopes which surrounded me and decided to move back to the camp because was tired and had seen enough.
I descended to the narrow part of the gorge and found the fresh tracks of goats, they passed there recently. Then I found the tracks of another herd, there were tracks of big males, I could judge so according to its size.
I was examinng their footprints when noticed the motion with the side vision. The group of fifteen Ibexes ran up along the steep slope. The measured distance was 365 meters and they were not going to stop. The last goat in their chain was what I needed. It wasn’t the biggest one but suited to my goal. I stood on the one slope and the herd was on the opposite one. All I had to do was to take the gun, put off the cover, set bipod and measured the distance once again: 398 meters. It seemed to me that Leika worked slow but then gave the correction – 3.9 MOA.
“So,- I whispered to myself,- there is the big rock, then the tree and then the Ibex.”
It stood sideways near the Archa tree. It was getting dark and I could hardly see it. Then I aimed under its shoulder blade, hold my breath and pulled the trigger. But nothing had happened. I forgot to distort, not cocked the trigger. It took me 3 seconds more. The Ibex did two steps and was turning its back, then froze for a moment as thinking what to do next. If it did one more step I’d lose any chance to get it. It wasn’t possible to aim to the shoulder blade once again and tried to find its back haunch hoping the bullet would go across the body and damage the spin. It almost merged with the tree. The sight froze on the definite place, my pulse was absolutely normal, feet stood stable. The whole body was one with the stone. Exhale and the shot! The sweet sound of the hit reached my ears through the echo of the shot.
According to the sound from AccuBond 140 gr. , the hit was accurate. In a second I saw that the goat stopped, then crouched, fell and tumbled down. It tried to stood up but the spine was damaged. Soon everything was over. I hoped it’d fall down to the bottom of the gorge but it got stuck. I congratulated myself with the good shot because wasn’t sure that could get anything that day. It was 6.30 pm. The hunting god awarded me for my patience and hard work during last days.
The next thing to find it! The ground was frozen yet and shoes didn’t slide. It took me 45 minutes to climb to the place where the goat stucked, then I threw the carcass down and ran for it. This part of the process lasted less than five minutes. I only had to take out the insides, took its liver, heart and inner fat. The male wasn’t big but fat what meant that the winter would be cold.
I went back to the camp not feeling tired. The female goats whistled to my back, irritated by the flashligh, while I was walking.
Later in the evening I called the guide and he arrived in the morning. We went to the place where I left the trophy, cut meat and loaded it on the horses. It was the amazing final of those unforgettable hunt.
The mountains attract people. We live and go away but they always stay.
